Watchlytes Primary School
Watchlytes, Welwyn Garden City, AL7 2AZ
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- IVY LEARNING TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Nicki Jaeggi
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Ivy Learning Trust
- Constituency
- Welwyn Hatfield
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 240
- Pupils on roll
- 158
- URN
- 149333
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01707886222
About this school
Watchlytes Primary School is a primary academy in Welwyn Garden City. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 158 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Watchlytes Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Early years
- Strong standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 24 | 25 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 67% | 76% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 21% | 4% |
| Expected standard in reading | 75% | 76% |
| Expected standard in maths | 79% | 84% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 75% | 68% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 106.0 | 104.0 |
Trends over time
How Watchlytes Primary School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Hertfordshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | — | 59.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 67% | 60.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 76% | 61% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 220 |
| 2023/24 | 183 |
| 2024/25 | 158 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Watchlytes Primary School compares
Watchlytes Primary School ranked 82nd of 339 primary schools in Hertfordshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 80% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 38% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 76% | 6% | 31.5% | 158 | — |
| Springmead Primary School | 52% | 4% | 24% | 248 | 0.4 miles |
| Panshanger Primary School | 80% | 4% | 10% | 240 | 0.4 miles |
| Swallow Dell Primary and Nursery School | 80% | 6.2% | 29.8% | 418 | 0.6 miles |
| Holwell Primary School | 77% | 4.8% | 32.8% | 397 | 1.0 miles |
| The Holy Family Catholic Primary School | — | — | — | 211 | 1.0 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
Inspection history
-
Graded inspection report9 December 2025
- 28 September 2021
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 31.51%
- English as an additional language
- 17.7%
- Overall absence
- 6.03%
- Persistent absence
- 14.38%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Springmead Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Welwyn Garden City
-
Panshanger Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Welwyn Garden City
-
Swallow Dell Primary and Nursery School0.6 miles
Primary · Welwyn Garden City
-
Holwell Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Welwyn Garden City
-
The Holy Family Catholic Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Welwyn Garden City
Other schools in Welwyn Garden City
Watchlytes Primary School ranks 5th of the 15 ranked primary schools in Welwyn Garden City.
- Applecroft School Primary
- Commonswood Primary & Nursery School Primary
- Creswick Academy Primary
- Harwood Hill Junior Mixed Infant and Nursery School Primary
- Holwell Primary School Primary
- Homerswood Primary and Nursery School Primary
- Our Lady Catholic Primary School Primary
- Panshanger Primary School Primary
- Peartree Primary School Primary
- Springmead Primary School Primary
- St John's Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School, Lemsford Primary
- Swallow Dell Primary and Nursery School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Watchlytes Primary School teach?
- Watchlytes Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Welwyn Garden City.
- Who is the headteacher of Watchlytes Primary School?
- The headteacher of Watchlytes Primary School is Mrs Nicki Jaeggi, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Watchlytes Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Watchlytes Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at Watchlytes Primary School?
- Watchlytes Primary School has 158 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Watchlytes Primary School full?
- Watchlytes Primary School has capacity for 240 pupils and 158 on roll (66%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Watchlytes Primary School a faith school?
- No. Watchlytes Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Watchlytes Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Watchlytes Primary School as having nursery classes.
- Is Watchlytes Primary School part of an academy trust?
- Watchlytes Primary School is part of IVY LEARNING TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Watchlytes Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 67% in 2023/24 and 76% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Watchlytes Primary School compare with other schools in Hertfordshire?
- Watchlytes Primary School ranked 82nd of 339 primary schools in Hertfordshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 80% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 38% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Watchlytes Primary School's absence rate?
- Watchlytes Primary School's overall absence rate is 6% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Watchlytes Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Watchlytes Primary School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 10 July 2026.